Torture Testing A New Ford Transit Custom

LOMMEL, BELGIUM – April 9, 2013: Ford’s Transit engineers
are well-known for their passion for commercial vehicles. In the case of
the all-new Ford Transit Custom one-tonne van it was more like tough
love.

More than 150 professional test drivers, plus customer fleet drivers and
Ford engineers, put the Ford Transit Custom through a punishing regime,
covering the equivalent of three million miles. Ford Transit Custom tests
included marathon non-stop driving tests to simulate an extremely demanding
10-year lifecycle in just six months, along with extreme climate testing
and corrosive salt- and mud-baths.

“I don’t think many customers would believe what this
vehicle has been through,” said Barry Gale, commercial vehicles chief
engineer, Ford of Europe. “We inflict the worst possible treatment
that a van could endure, and we’re only satisfied when our new
vehicle comes through with flying colours – just as the Transit
Custom has done.”

Ford analysed data from real-world Transit use gathered from more than
600 vehicles, over six million miles, in seven markets around the world;
that helped inform worst-case usage durability targets based on a 10-year,
150,000-mile lifecycle.

Accelerated durability testing took place at Ford’s Lommel proving
ground in Belgium, scene of more than 30 separate vehicle tests. These
included the “trailer tow general durability” test, one of the
ordeals that condenses an extremely tough 10-year lifecycle into just six
months.

Examples of the extreme challenges included:

Autobahnspeed:
maintaining maximum speed for two months non-stop

Figure Eight:
executing figures-of-eight non-stop for one month

Chassis strength:
crashing into a 140mm kerb at more than 35mph

Potholes and bumps:
completing a potholed and bumpy course at speeds of up to 45mph –
more than 5,000 times

Corrosion resistance: driving over rough gravel
roads, through salt- and mud-baths, and soaking in high-humidity chambers
– for 12 weeks

During its development, Ford Transit Custom prototypes also endured the
toughest “real–world” conditions, surviving the extremes
of 40degC heat in Dubai and -40degC biting cold in Finland, plus
high-mileage road testing in the hands of professional fleet drivers.

In the test labs, Ford subjected the all-new 2.2-litre Duratorq diesel
engine – powering the all-new Transit Custom – to 46 days of
continuous high-load urban driving on specialised rigs, as part of tens of
thousands of hours of engine testing. Component test rigs simulating
real-world punishment can prove-out a full 10-year vehicle lifecycle in as
little as 30 days.

Ford has engineered more than 100 significant improvements as a direct
result of its testing regime. These include the redesign and strengthening
of the engine mount brackets and body rocker panels. The same regime will
deliver similar benefits to the all-new Ford Transit and Ford Transit
Connect models due for launch by 2014.

“Pushing the van to the limit and beyond helps us to deliver a
stronger, more robust product. This translates directly into every-day
reliability for the customer, however tough their working
environment,” added Gale.

The all-new Ford Transit Custom is the first vehicle in its segment to
achieve a maximum five-star rating from independent vehicle safety
organisation Euro NCAP, and since launch has sold more than 2,000 units in
the UK.